A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Wednesday, May 06, 2015

Pouring Gasoline on a Fire

Pamela Geller, Co-founder of AFDI

I don’t know whether Pamela Geller is a fool or just plain
evil. But one thing she is for sure is wrong. And I am outraged by her tactics.

Pamela Geller was one of the organizers of an event in Garland,
Texas last Sunday that was attacked by 2 homegrown Islamic terrorists. They were not successful having been shot and
killed by police before they entered the building. They were said to have been inspired by Islamic State (IS) or like minded Jihadist groups via social media. Which has been urging sympathizers
across the globe to become martyrs for God in the cause of Islam. (IS has claimed credit for the attack but to the best of my knowledge there is no evidence of any direct connection.)

There are few rational people in the world that justify what
these 2 terrorists tried to do. Including the vast majority of Muslims. They were unquestioningly evil - despite the fact that they believed they were defending the honor of Islam. But does that make what Pamela Geller
did OK? Not in my view.

The attack was precipitated by Ms. Geller and friends by basically spitting
in the face of Islam and calling it free speech. She may have that right. Free
speech is protected in this country no matter how hateful it is. Unless it can cause
harm to the public. Like yelling ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater when there is no actual fire. The question is, was that the case here? Was
what Ms. Geller did here comparable to that?

The event she and others hosted was a contest to see who
would create the best caricature of the Islam’s founder, Muhammad. Drawing images of Muhammad is at the very least
frowned upon if not outright forbidden by Islamic law. And if it is done in any kind for disrespectful
way, it is a cause of great outrage.

Which will inspire a few of the Jihadists
among them to try and murder those who do . By now that is no secret. That’s
what precipitated the massacre at the offices of the satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo last January in France. Over the years they had published a
series of embarrassing caricatures of
Muhammad. And they were not the first to experience terror as the result of
insulting Islam’s founder.

Now Pamela Geller has decided to join the fray. She is
the co-founder (along with Robert Spencer) of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI). Although
she vigorously denies it, it is hard to see them as anything other than a hate
group that goes out of its way to insult Muslims.

What possible motive could she have had in holding a
competition like this? Protecting free speech? Free speech was doing just fine
before she started disparaging other religions. By holding this competition she
is perceived even by decent Muslims to be spitting in their face! It is pure folly
to do that, not only because you are daring extremists to massacre you, your
fellow organizers and participants... but because it is reprehensible to publicly
disparage the icons of other religions. It spreads hate and generates retaliation
from Jihadists all too eager exact revenge.
Which is what happened at Charlie Hebdo in France. And was attempted in Garland,
Texas.

Just because there is a right to publicly disparage religions as a matter of free speech, doesn’t mean it should be done. Having
the right to do something does not automatically make it morally acceptable. Nor does it make it smart. It is wrong and counterproductive.

That said, I am not being naïve about
Jihadist terror. It exists and will continue
to exist with or without AFDI and Ms.
Geller. It is even spreading.Islamic Jihadism is a real threat to freedom and our way of life.
It needs to be vigorously fought by all means at our disposal - and ultimately
eradicated. We cannot allow attacks like
this to succeed. Jihadists are surely motivated to keep trying until they succeed
at massacring large numbers of innocent people in America - just as they have in France. We have to be ever vigilant. This is a war that we cannot afford
to lose.

But you don’t win wars by pouring gasoline on a fire. That’s what
Pamela is doing with her group. And she ought to stop.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.